New York City embraces Aussie Wine Week 2018

Eleven Australian winemakers have led the celebration of Australian wine in New York City with retailers, restaurants and consumers during Aussie Wine Week (10–14 September) 2018.

In its second year, the week-long event is driving awareness of Australian wine with an expanded program of trade and consumer activities.

Highlights of the week include:

• the Australian Wine Made Our Way Trade Tasting and Seminar – Wine Australia’s largest annual New York trade tasting, featuring 300 Australian wines from more than 30 wine growing regions
• the Australian wine sector’s first-ever New York Taste-Around, with more than 30 New York retailers showcasing Australian wines available in the New York market
• restaurants across New York offering uniquely Australian food and wine pairings
• a record number of retail shops conducting in-store consumer tastings
• consumer and trade engagement, partnering with two leading New York influencers at leading wine establishments: Terroir Tribeca and Corkbuzz, and
• a Wine Industry Brunch for distributors and key stakeholders.

Wine Australia CEO Andreas Clark said, ‘The expanded program of events is part of a concerted effort to drive demand for Australian wine in the USA, as part of the Australian Government’s $50 million Export and Regional Wine Support Package.

‘In July, we held our first-ever Australia Decanted event at Lake Tahoe, California and plans are underway for 100 wineries to hit the US market en masse in 2019 for the inaugural Aussie Wine Month. ‘We’ve also, just this week, gone live with our new consumer website (www.australianwine.com) for global consumers seeking the latest information about Australian wine. The new website will complement our corporate site (www.wineaustralia.com) that speaks to the wine sector, trade and stakeholders’, he said.

Some of the feedback on Aussie Wine Week 2018 included:

‘The event was probably the best Wine Australia event that I’ve seen in New York.’ – Justin Sharkey, Sales and Marketing Manager, Margaret River Imports, North America (Greater New York City area)

‘There was tremendous attendance at the Trade Tasting, the quality of trade and media in attendance was top tier.’ – Steve Raye, President, Bevology, New York City-based import company

‘Things are looking up when it comes to Australian Chardonnay. In the years that I’ve been following these wines, I’ve tasted the pendulum swing…these days, the pendulum is in the right place. The overall style definitely leans toward reduction, but the fruit is more generous, there’s a savory edge to many of them and the oak is seductive but very much in check.’ – Christy Frank, Buyer/Consultant, Copake Wine Works, New York City.

See the full Aussie Wine Week 2018 program and list of participating winemakers at https://www.wineaustralia.com/whats-happening/events/aussie-wine-week-2018

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Click here for Dropbox link of photos.